So you booked a personal brand session! HOORAY! You made a decision to invest in yourself and your business, and that should be celebrated! *Virtual high five on three!*
You did the first step…but now what?!
You know you want your photos to represent you and your brand authentically.
You want them to set you apart in your industry and allow your clients to see you as the expert in your niche. BUT HOW?!
Imagine me running towards you in my best Mrs. Doubtfire voice screaming “HELP IS ON THE WAY DEARRRR!” because I’m loading this blog post with my top tips for preparing for your personal brand session! Ready set GO!

Determine the goal you want these photos to meet

Why do you need these photos?
Do you have a new product or service you’re rolling out?
Are you updating your website and want to sprinkle in some brand images to connect with your audience?
Maybe all of my IG reels have finally convinced you and you’re ready to show up on your social media? (lol)
Whatever the case, it’s important that you know why you decided to do a brand session and it’s even more important that you tell your photographer your why as well!

Say your main goal is to update your website, and you need various banners/headers with room for text overlay. If you communicate this with your photographer, he or she will make sure to grab specific shots that will do well in that form of usage! Same with social media, graphics, pinterest, etc. Knowing your goals are SO important and play a huge role in the planning process!

My clients receive a super in depth brand questionnaire when they book with me to ensure I know their goals and desired use for their photos! That way there is no guessing, and no disappointment in lack of specific shots after our session. If you’re a brand photographer reading this, I HIGHLY recommend doing questionnaires! They help bring clarity to both your clients and you as the creative! I send mine via Honeybook (my CRM of choice) and it’s so simple! You can use my link for 20% off your first year!

Know your must have shots

Most likely, you have at least a few images you know you need to get.
You holding your favorite coffee drink so you can connect with your audience and ask their fav coffee order.
You popping champagne to celebrate a launch or huge milestone in your business.
Or maybe you desperately need a “looking and smiling” headshot for an updated profile photo!

I always have a list I work from, and will customize that based on your business! But it’s SO great for you to have your own needs and communicate those to your photographer!

Incorporate your brand colors

What colors you wear ABSOLUTELY matter!
It took me the longest time to realize this in my wedding photography business…but my goodness. Brand colors are so important. Wether you had someone professionally create your branding (colors, logo, fonts, etc), or you did it yourself, sticking within your brand color pallet will help create consistency within your brand photos.

Think of it like this:
Say your brand colors are hot pink, yellow, greens, blues, etc. BRIGHT, happy, joyful! But you show up for your brand photos wearing all black. Do you think those photos will seamlessly flow with your super colorful website and social media feeds? NOOOOO. No. The answer is no.
In this example, I’d recommend bright colored outfits OR neutral outfits with colorful props! One of my favorite things ever is helping clients pick outfits so if you’re my client…let me help!
Props are a whole thing and I wrote a blog posts HERE talking about some of my favorite props for brand sessions! The gist is: Your brand colors ALWAYS. Pens, coffee mugs, journals, water bottles, ALL of it. Your brand colors! Which honestly may sound overwhelming, but it’s highly likely that you gravitate towards those colors anyways and already have a ton of things you use daily that are within those colors!

Find a location that fits your brand best

I’m planning to write a whole other blog post on this specifically, (which I will link here when I get to it), but for now, lets talk locations!
So there are some obvious choices based on the type of business/brand you are. For example, if you own a brick and mortar shop, we will do at least some of your brand photos there!
But say you don’t own a shop. There are SO many options y’all! Rentable studios, Air B&Bs (with permission from the owner to photograph there), coffee shops (again…permission), event spaces, parks, the list goes on and on!
Where we choose is dependent on your specific brand/style/preferences. Aka if you never drink coffee, we probably wont be shooting your photos at a coffee shop!
If you’re a personal chef, we will find a rentable home (or yours!) with a kitchen that matches your style and photograph there.
Location matters just as much (if not more) than your outfits and props, so I make sure to plan this detail after I receive your questionnaire and snag us the perfect spot/spots!

I hope this was helpful in preparing for your personal brand session! I’m SO thrilled you decided to do this! I know you will be so glad you did!